tokyo

In Akihabara there’s a sharp contrast between the main arteries, full of light, tall buildings, gaudy colours, and the back alleys. I spent a good while in those back alleys, trying to capture the slightly seedy feel of them. I think this shot did it.

My original intent with this was to shoot light trails in front of the Akihabara lights. Unfortunately, I had not anticipated that the pedestrians crossing on my left would block the cars turning just in front of my lens. So instead I shot a long exposure in between cars, and was quite pleased withe the result (and surprisingly little ghosting).

Walking around the narrow alleyways in Nakano I saw all these little eating places that looked so Japanese. I wanted to shoot people in them though, so this one with a clear(ish) window offered me that opportunity.

Christmas season it seems starts earlier every year. In the US it’s usually after Thanksgiving, but here in Asia there’s no Thanksgiving so it’s usually after Halloween… One thing is for sure: late November Tokyo is ablaze with Christmas lights. This wasn’t one of the more spectacular trees, but it was an interesting contrast with the signs in the background, I thought…

In Tokyo I was in the Shimbashi area by accident, but I loved the vertical nature of the city around there. Cold, to be sure, but multi-level with elevated pedestrian platforms everywhere and great perspectives…

I went to Tokyo fully determined to do lots of light trails, but I realised that you rarely stumble upon the right locations without knowing ahead of time what might look good. Also: pedestrian overpasses: good. Glass railings: bad. This was the best I managed, with a tripod precariously perched on the tip of a glass railing…

Tokyo (or at least parts of Tokyo) has a very industrial feel, and I was reminded of Blade Runner in ways that (strangely) Hong Kong doesn’t evoke to me. Cold light, lots of multi-level pedestrian walkways and (inevitably) lots of escalators.